Beam racks for railroad cars



Dec. 28, 1965 w. H. BOGAR ET AL BEAM RACKS FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed NOV.16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR5 HILL/m mm Bow/- EDMRD AEW/S mm 17 91: Mssn/AM PM: .IMA/ Mm M Z MMfs cm; Ila/7am (QKWML ATTORNEY Dec. 28,1965 w. H. BOGAR ET AL BEAM RACKS FOR RAILROAD CARS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 16, 1962 FIG-.2

M R 0 E0 w mmwm m EG RF O MWM W w D A UR K AE MO w H A LL DT MRR s LAELEwwwm WERPM 1965 w. H. BOGAR ETAL BEAM RACKS FOR RAILROAD CARS 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 16, 1962 FIG.6

INVENTORS WILLIAM HENRY BOGAR BY JAMES CLAUDE RUFFOLO NEY United StatesPatent 3,225,706 BEAM RACKS FOR RAILROAD CARS William Henry Bogar,Newark, Del., Edward Lewis Davis,

Chicago, 111., Robert Leo Hassenauer, Chicago Heights,

Ill., Paul John Pakurar, Wilmington, Del., and James Claude Rulfolo,Chicago, Ill., assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company,Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 16, 1962, Ser.No. 238,096 8 Claims. (Cl. 105-367) This invention relates generally tothe structure of vehicles for transporting freight. More specifically,the invention involves in combination with railway freight carconstruction an improved rack or frame structure useful in loading andtransporting large heavy spoollike objects such as yarn beams, reels forfilm and fabrics, and reels for cables and the like.

The invention is of special significance in the loading, unloading, andtransportation of the type of heavy beams upon which nylon, rayon, orother yarns are wound for shipment, it being very important that suchbeams be expeditiously loaded in the vehicle and secured againstmovement relative to each other and relative to the vehicle duringtravel of the vehicle in order to prevent damage to the yarn or to thebeams. Such beams, when fully loaded with yarn, weigh between 1,000 and2,000 pounds and great care must be taken in loading and during travelto prevent the impacts and minimize forces incidental to loading andtravel which would damage the beams and the yarn.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved frame structurein a freight vehicle for supporting and securing beams in travelingpositions, and for permitting rapid and easy loading and unloading ofthe beams from the vehicle.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved supportingframe structure for beams which structure is especially adapted tocooperate with a freight car construction of the type having the sideportions of the enclosed freight space entirely formed by door members,and further having a single slidable drawbar assembly connected to themain body of the car through a shock absorber mechanism, thiscooperation making possible maximum utilization of available freight carspace with the greatest possible ease of loading and unloading.

It is another object of the invention to provide in conjunction with thefreight car shock absorber features and all-door side constructionmentioned in the preceding paragraph, an improved rack structure ofsufficient strength to support and secure beams in position duringtravel of the car, while permitting safe efiicient loading and unloadingof individual beams from any longitudinal position along the length ofthe car and from either side of the car or both sides simultaneously asdesired.

It is another object to provide an improved frame structure for thetransport and handling of beams in a railroad freight car, whichstructure, through reasonably light and simple in construction, iseffective and reliable to support and secure the beams duringtransportation without damage.

It is another object of this invention to provide a frame structure, orrack arrangement, for supporting beams, in a freight car which permitsdirect lateral unloading from either side and from any position alongthe length of the car and which permits beams to be moved in the framestructure by rolling when not secured in traveling condition.

It is another object of the invention to provide a frame structure whichsupports and maintains beams in a freight car in an attitude whichprevents impacts or acceleration dicated in broken lines.

3,225,706 Patented Dec. 28, 1965 ice in the line of normal car travelfrom producing a tendency in the stored beams tomove by rolling action.

Other objects and advantages will appear from a consideration of thefollowing specification and claims when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a railway freight car providedwith the improved frame structure of this invention. Certain structuralparts have been broken away to simplify and clarify the showing. Aportion of the frame structure with the beams supported thereon is shownwith broken lines. The slidable drawbar and associated shock absorberdevice is also generally shown in this figure.

FIGURE 2 is a partial perspective view of the railway car and frameconstruction taken at one of the beam carrying positions along thelength of the car. Certain parts have been broken away to show thearrangement of parts more clearly.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial side elevational view of part of one ofthe vertical support members and one of the rail elements carriedthereby. The position of one end of a beam positioned on the railelement is in- The means for securing the beams in position againstlateral and vertical movement is also shown in this figure.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged end view of the partial structure shown inFIGURE 3 looking lengthwise of the car as indicated at line 44 of FIGURE3.

FIGURE 5 is a general large scale side elevational view of the railroadcar construction embodying features of the invention illustratingprimarily the all-door side wall construction of the car.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged view of the vertical support members, railelements, and cooperating structure defining the beam carrying andsecuring frame structure of the invention at one longitudinally spacedposition along the car showing the arrangement of parts in considerabledetail.

The improved frame structure of this invention has special significancein combination with a general type of railway freight car constructionin which the car is provided with, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 5 a mainbody unit U supported by wheeled trucks T and having as the body unit ahousing enclosing the freight carrying space. The housing of this typecar comprises two opposed end walls E, a roof R and opposed side wallswhich are entirely formed by movable door members as shown. In addition,this type car is provided with a slidabe drawbar assembly extendinglongitudinally through the body unit U and provided at its ends withusual coupling devices. A shock absorber unit cooperates with thedrawbar assembly and the main body unit U to cushion longitudinalimpacts and forces transmitted to the main body unit by the drawbarassembly. These features of the railway freight car constructionpreferably used in conjunction with the improved frame structure of thisinvention, are known to those skilled in the railway rolling stock art,and for this reason the specific details of the all door sideconstruction, the slidable drawbar assembly, and shock absorbermechanism are not disclosed.

The objects of freight for which the frame structure of this inventionis primarily intended are the large heavy spool-like objects known inthe art as beams or reels. These beams are designated by the referenceletter B and shown at various places in the drawings. The beams areconventional structures or articles and are generally described ashaving a central elongated shaft structure and two axially spacedopposed annular rim elements carried by or mounted on the shaftstructure. In the drawings the ends of the central shaft structures areindicated by reference numeral 83 and the annular rim elements byreference numeral 82.

The improved frame structure of the invention is preferably permanentlyfixed to the general freight car structure. This frame structure issufficiently rigid and strong, in conjunction with the slidable drawbarand shock absorber mechanisms, that beams are satisfactorily supportedand secured in position against the impacts and forces encountered bythe car during travel and loadingunloading operations. As seen in thedrawings this combination of features makes possible a frame structurewhich is relatively simple, light, and compact which permits maximumutilization of the car freight carrying space.

As shown in the drawings the frame structure comprises a plurality ofvertical support members 1 suitably secured to the car structure atlongitudinally spaced positions in the car. Laterally opposed verticalsupport members 1 are interconnected by cross-bar members 2 which extendtransversely of the car and are positioned substantially horizontally asbest shown in FIGURES 2, 3, and 4. Rigidly supported on each cross-barmember 2 are a plurality of shortened longitudinally extending ribmembers 3 each parallel and spaced laterally from the other rib memberon a given cross-bar member. Sets of laterally extending elongated railmembers 4 are rigidly supported on the rib members 3 on each cross-barmember 2. Each set of spaced parallel rail members 4 forms asubstantially horizontal transverse guideway in the frame structure forreceiving and supporting the annular rim elements of beams to becarried. Preferably the elongated rail members are formed with anL-shaped transverse cross section as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. Thehorizontal laterally extending surface of the rail member providessupport in the vertical direction for rim elements of beams positionedin the frame structure. An elongated guiding and positioning element 5is secured in the rail member in position adjacent and substantiallyparallel to the horizontal laterally extending surface of the railmember. This element 5 is preferably provided with a rounded transversecross section which in cooperation with the element 5 on the opposedrail element of each set forms a downwardly converging abutmentstructure which engages and wedges the rim elements of a beam downwardlyinto position on the horizontal surfaces of the rail members. Thisabutment structure also provides positive restraint against axialmovement of the beams in a longitudinal direction relative to the carstructure. The extremities of elongated elements 5 are provided withtapered surfaces 51 to assist in guiding the beam rim elements as thebeams are loaded at the outer ends of the lateral guideways. At leastone of the elongated elements 5 forming a portion of a guideway isremovably secured to its rail member so that elongated elements 5 ofdiffering sizes may be substituted to accommodate beams with varyingdistances between the beam rim elements.

A transversely extending elongated bar element 6 is movably mountedadjacent each rail member 4 in the frame structure. Bar elements 6 arepivotally mounted at each extremity to the vertical support members 1 byswingable link elements each formed of slidable adjustable parts 72 and78 which are attached to each other by means elongated holes 76 andbolts 77. As best shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, part 78 is rigidly connectedto a hub or sleeve element 79 which is rotatably mounted on a pin orshaft 73 secured in vertical member 1. A part 71 is also rigidlyconnected to sleeve element 79 substantially parallel to part 78 at aposition axially spaced from part 78 along the shaft 73. Part 71 ispivotally connected to one end of a manually operated lever 61 by meansof link 65 and pins 70 and 64. Lever 61 is provided with a handgrip 63by which the bar element 6 is moved, one end at a time, between a firstposition in which the bar element 6 engages elongated shaft structures83 of beams B supported in the adjacent rail member to exert a downwardforce thereon sufficient to secure the beams against vertical andlateral movement on the rail members forming the transverse guideway,and a second position in which the bar element is spaced out ofengagement with the shaft structures 83 to permit lateral and verticalmovement of the beams for loading and unloading. The operation ofmanually actuated lever 61 is believed to be clearly illustrated inFIGURES 2, 3, 4, the lever being shown in the middle guideway in FIG-URE 2 in a position in which one end of the bar element 6 is held out ofengagement with the beam shaft structures 83. Pivoted elements 55 aremovably mounted on vertical support members 1 to engage and hold thelevers 61 in position in which the bar element 6 is maintained in thesecond position mentioned previously.

Each guideway is provided with a releasable latch device for holdingbeams near the car longitudinal centerline from lateral movement towardthe sides of the car. These latch devices comprise an elongatedtransversely extending shaft rotatably mounted in sockets 91 fixed invertical support members 1, a latch element 92 having a notch forengagement with the shaft structure 83 of a beam in central portion ofthe guideway, the latch element and shaft being pivotally movable intoand out of engagement with beam shaft structure by actuation of a handlefastened to the shaft 90 for manual operation. A limit stop 93 on shaft90 cooperates with a fixed abutment 94 mounted on vertical supportelement 1 to position element 92 in operative position for engaging thebeam shaft structures 83 to prevent laterally rolling movement of thelatched beam on the rail members 4 forming the guideway.

As will be seen in FIGURES 3 and 4 the rail members 4 are each providedat their extremities with flared portions or tapered surfaces 43 tofacilitate loading of beams into the guideways. Also, members 4 areprovided at their extremities with elements 44 which serves as detentsor stop abutments providing some resistance to rolling movement of beamrim elements into and out of the guideway defined by the rail members.

It will be noted from the drawings, especially FIGURE 4, that barelements 6 are provided with cam or wedge surfaces 36 which force thebeam shaft structures 83 and beams laterally inward on the rail memberas the bar is moved downwardly. These surfaces 36 also serve to hold thebeams against lateral movement when secured in their traveling positionsin the guideways. If desired additional elements 69 may be mounted onbar elements 6 to extend the cam or wedge surfaces 36. Bar element 6 isprovided at its beam shaft engaging positions with resilient padelements 35 formed of suitable material such as rubber or neoprene andsecured to the bar structure.

Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4 catch element 87 is shown supported onmember 1 adjacent the upper end of handgrip operated lever 61 forreleasably maintaining the lever and its bar element in position ofengagement with the beam shaft structures. Element 87 is verticallyslidably mounted for engagement with cam surface 89 of element 88 whichis rigidly connected to lever 61. Upon moving the upper end of lever 61in toward member 1 the catch element 87 is cammed upwardly by camsurface 89 out of the Way of element 88 and drops by gravity in holdingposition behind element 88. The catch element is manually lifted out ofengagement with element 88 when it is desired to actuate lever 61 andits bar element 6. a i

The operation of the disclosed structure or apparatus is believed to beclear from the drawings and above descripition. It will be obvious thatloading or unloading can be accomplished from either or both sides ofthe car and frame structure simultaneously, and can be accomplisheddirectly at any of the longitudinally spaced beam guideway positionsalong the car.

For loading, the bar elements 6 are positioned as shown in the bottomrow of guideways of FIGURE 2 by actuation of handgrips 63 and held inposition by engagement of lever 61 with elements 55. Then the beams areloaded by rolling into position on the rail members forming eachguideway. Latch 92 will automatically engage the central beam, beingcammed upwardly out of the way by the beam shaft structure and thendropping down .by gravity into latching engagement with the shaftstructure. The beams in a guideway are secured in traveling position byupward movement of the handgrips 63 and latched in secured travelingposition by latch elements 87. Unloading is accomplished equally simplyand effectively.

It will be noted that the transverse bar element operating linkage ofthe uppermost guideway is slightly modified for easier manipulationbecause of its more elevated position. The pivoted lever 61 beingprovided with an extended handgrip element 63'.

It is believed clear that a significantly improved beam supporting andsecuring frame structure for freight vehicles has been provided. Theframe structure of this invention cooperates with the particular freightcar construction, for which it was designed, to perform its function ina manner not contemplated or possible by previous structures of thistype. The frame structure makes possible maximum utilization ofavailable freight space and also makes possible direct lateral unloadingof individual small groups of beams at any position along the length ofthe car. This means that mixed loads with different parts bound fordifferent destinations can easily be carried and expeditiously handled.

Furthermore, simultaneous loading and/or unloading can go on at aplurality of positions along the length of a given car. The novelstructure of the invention is believed to be not only highly useful, butis a very significant improvement in this art.

In accordance with the patent statutes a preferred embodiment of theinvention has been described in detail. Many modifications andvariations within the spirit of the invention will occur to thoseskilled in this art and all such are considered to fall with the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a railroad freight car having a longitudinaldimension generally corresponding to the direction of travel of the car,a given width and a given height, said freight car comprising a mainbody unit supported on wheeled trucks, a slidable drawbar assemblyextending longitudinally through said body unit and provided with carcoupling devices, a shock absorber mechanism cooperating with saiddrawbar assembly and the main body unit to cushion longitudinal impactsand forces transmitted to the main body unit by the drawbar assembly,said car further comprising a housing secured on said main body unit andenclosing a space for freight, said housing comprising opposed endwalls, a longitudinally extending roof structure, and opposedlongitudinally extending side walls, said side walls formed by aplurality of movable door members constructed and arranged to permitdirect lateral access into the space for freight from either side at anylongitudinal position along the car length; an improved frame structuremounted in housing structure for handling and supporting a plurality ofbeams, of the type comprising a central elongated shaft structure andtwo axially spaced opposed annular rim elements carried by said shaftstructure, said frame structure also adapted to secure the beams againstmovement relative to the car and each other during movement of the car,said frame structure constructed and arranged to support and secure saidplurality of beams in a plurality of groups at longitudinally spacedpositions along the car, the beams of each group having their axesparallel to each other and substantially parallel to the longitudinaldimensionof the car and the direction of car travel, the beams of eachgroup being supported by substantially flat rail members of said framestructure in aligned rows extending vertically and laterally across thewidth of the car at each longitudinally spaced position for directlateral '6 loading and unloading of individual beams from the car fromeither side and both sides thereof at each of said longitudinally spacedpositions, said improved frame structure comprising a plurality ofvertical support members mounted at longitudinally spaced locations insaid housing, a plurality of sets of vertically spaced superimposedsubstantially horizontal parallel rail members mounted on said verticalsupport members and extending laterally across the width of the car ateach of said longitudinally spaced positions to form a series ofvertically aligned horizontal guideways extending across the width ofsaid car between said side walls of the housing, each guidewayconstructed and arranged to engage and support for rolling engagementtherewith a plurality of parallel laterally aligned beams with the beamaxes substantially parallel to the length of the car and its directionof travel of the car, said frame structure provided with abutment meanspositioned to cooperate with said beams to prevent axial movement of thebeams longitudinally of the car, said frame structure further providedwith releasable means adjacent each guideway for engagement with theshaft structure of beams supported on said guideway to positively securesuch beams in position on said guideway and prevent vertical and lateralmovement of such beams with respect to the guideway.

2. The improved frame structure of claim 1 in which each rail member ofsaid plurality of sets of rail members comprises a horizontal surfacefor engagement with the periphery of one of said annular rim elements ofone of said beams, and said abutment means comprises an element mountedon each rail member and provided with a first surface extending alongsaid rail member adjacent said horizontal surface for engagement with aside portion of one of said beam annular rim elements positioned on saidhorizontal surface to prevent axial movement of said beam longitudinallyof the frame structure and said car.

3. The improved frame structure of claim 2 in which said releasablemeans comprises a movable elongated transverse bar element mounted insaid frame structure and positioned adjacent each guideway for movementbetween a first position in which said bar element engages the elongatedshaft structure of beams supported in the guideway to exert a downwardforce thereon sufficient to secure the beams against vertical andlateral movement on said guideway, and a second position in which saidbar element is spaced out of engagement with the shaft structures ofbeams on the adjacent guideway to permit lateral movement of the beamsand unloading, said releasable means comprising a drive means for movingsaid bar element between its first and second positions.

4. The improved frame structure of claim 3 in which said bar element isprovided with wedge means for engaging the shaft structures of theoutermost beams in each .guideway and urging said beams inwardly towardthe longitudinal centerline of the car when said bar element is in itsfirst position, each bar element independently pivotally mountedadjacent each end thereof and independently engaged with the drive meansfor independent movement of each end of said bar element between saidfirst and said second positions.

'5. The improved frame structure of claim 4 in which said releasablemeans further comprises a releasable latch device mounted in the framestructure adjacent each guideway for engagement with the shaft structureof a beam supported on the central portion of the guideway to preventlateral movement of such beam on the guideway when said bar element isin its second position, and means for pivotally releasing said latchdevice from engagement with a beam supported on the central portion ofthe guideway.

6. The improved frame structure of claim 5 in which said abutment meanselement is further provided with a second surface extending along saidrail member, said second surface of the abutment means on thecorresponding rail member forming each guideway being oppositely 7tapered to guide the annular rim elements of beams on said guidewaydownwardly into engagement with the horizontal surface of said railmembers and into close fitting relationship with the first surfaces ofeach abutment means element on the rail members.

7. The improved frame structure of claim 6 in which each rail member isprovided with laterally outwardly diverging guide surfaces ate-itslateral extremities which cooperate with similar opposed guide surfacesof the other corresponding rail member forming each =guideway to controlthe movement of beams during loading and unloading on the guideways.

'8. The improved frame structure of claim 7 which comprises fasteningmeans for permanently securing said frame structure in said housing andon said car body unit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Callery 105-378-Porte 105368.5 X

McGinn 21113 Berra et a1. 211-13 Peterson 105454 Nampa 105-367 ARTHUR L.LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR HAVING A LONGITUDINALDIMENSION GENERALLY CORRESPONDING TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE CAR,A GIVEN WIDTH AND A GIVEN HEIGHT, SAID FREIGHT CAR COMPISING A MAIN BODYUNIT SUPPORTED ON WHEELED TRUCKS, A SLIDABLE DRAWBAR ASSEMBLY EXTENDINGLONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID BODY UNIT AND PROVIDED WITH CAR COUPLINGDEVICES, A SHOCK ABSORBER MECHANISM COOPERATING WITH SAID DRAWBARASSEMBLY AND THE MAIN BODY UNIT TO CUSHION LONGITUDINAL IMPACTS ANDFORCES TRANSMITTED TO THE MAIN BODY UNIT BY THE DRAWBAR ASSEMBLY, SAIDCAR FURTHER COMPRISING A HOUSING SECURED ON SAID MAIN BODY UNIT ANEENCLOSING A SPACE FOR FREIGHT, SAID HOUSING COMPRISING OPPOSED ENDWALLS, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING ROOF STRUCTURE, AND OPPOSEDLONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS FORMED BY APLURALITY OF MOVABLE DOOR MEMBERS CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO PERMITDIRECT LATERAL ACCESS INTO THE SPACE FOR FREIGHT FROM EITHER SIDE AT ANYLONGITUDINAL POSITION ALONG THE CAR LENGTH; AN IMPROVED FRAME STRUCTUREMOUNTED IN HOUSING STRUCTURE FOR HANDLING AND SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OFBEAMS, OF THE TYPE COMPRISING A CENTRAL ELONGATED SHAFT STRUCTURE ANDTWO AXIALLY SPACED OPPOSED ANNULAR RIM ELEMENTS CARRIED BY SAID SHAFTSTRUCTURE, SAID FRAME STRUCTURE ALSO ADAPTED TO SECURE THE BEAMS AGAINSTMOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE CAR AND EACH OTHER DURING MOVEMENT OF THE CAR,SAID FRAME STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO SUPPORT AND SECURE SAIDPLURALITY OF BEAMS IN A PLURALITY OF GROUPS OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACEDPOSITIONS ALONG THE CAR, THE BEAMS OF EACH GROUP HAVING THEIR AXESPARALLEL TO